乐昌过山瑶及其迁徙考略

A Research of the Guo-Shan Yao of Lechang and Their Migration

生活于广东原乐昌县东西二山一带的过山瑶有悠久的历史,元明之际已在此生息繁衍,与今日生活在这一带的瑶族有前后继承关系。在明正德九年至清道光十一年的300多年中,乐昌瑶先后三次起义反抗封建王朝,是北江上游地区瑶族之首。由于耕作方式、王朝征剿和征调等原因,从明初起乐昌瑶相率向外迁徙,今生活于湖南、广西、贵州、云南等4省区24县以及越南、老挝、缅甸、泰国、美国、加拿大和法国等国的过山瑶,多称他们的祖先来自乐昌县。乐昌东西二山(其中西山在今乳源瑶族自治县必背镇一带)是过山瑶的重要祖居地之一。过山瑶尤其国外过山瑶对乐昌怀有特别的感情,主要由于从乐昌外迁的瑶族众多,以及乐昌有一段令他们难以忘怀的日子和引以为自豪的历史。

The Guo-shan (过山, literally, cross mountains) Yaos who lived in the areas of east and west mountains of former Lechang (乐昌), Guangdong had long history since the time between the Yuan and Ming. They are the ancestors of the Yaos who live here today. In more than 300 years from the ninth year of Zhengde (正德) of the Ming to the eleventh year of Daoguang (道光) of the Qing, they were the leader tribe of the Yao people of the upper reaches of Beijang river and rebelled the feudal rulers three times one after the other. Since the early Ming dynasty, they began to leave Lechang for searching planting lands, attacks and call-ups by the center governments. Many Guo-shan Yaos who live in Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunan, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, Thailand, US, Canada, and France today say their ancestors came from Lechang. The region of east and west mountains (the west mountain locates in the Bibei Town, Ruyuan Yao Autonomy County) is an important ancestral home of the Guo-Shan Yao people. The attachment of many Guo-Shan Yaos, especially who live overseas, to Lechang come from the history that the Yao people had a good and pride time in Lechang and the Yao emigration from Lechang is large.